Love from Disaster
by Lexy4KagInu
Summary: Kagome is a kinder garden teacher, Inuyasha, a fireman. They've known each other all their lives and recently started dating. How will their relationship be affected when Kagome's school catches on fire?


**Love from Disaster**

_**Summary: **__Kagome is a kinder garden teacher, Inuyasha, a fireman. They've known each other all their lives and recently started dating. How will their relationship be affected when Kagome's school catches on fire?_

**Disclaimer: **Yada... yada... yada. I don't own, my fucking god. I say it in every god damn story... Pardon my language. :)

**Note: **No one in this story is a demon or priestess. Everyone is human.

**Warning:** I've been working on my lemons for you guys... Descriptive lemon in this story.

'_Oh come ON!_' Kagome wanted to scream out loud. She'd been standing in line for almost ten minutes. '_I'm gonna be late for work!_' She stared in irritation as the elderly clerk tried to scan the package again. '_How hard is it to check out a damn ham?_' The man in front of her seemed to be growing impatient too. He forced a smile at the old woman.

"That's okay ma'am, I'll just put it back." he said with obviously forced politeness. He grabbed the rest of his things and payed the woman before stepping out of the line. Kagome was next.

'_It's about time._' she forced a smile that looked more realistic. She placed her things on the counter. '_This is the last time I'm going grocery shopping before work._' She paid for her belongings and half-ran to her car. It was 7:49. She'd better punch in before eight.

She punched in at the elementary school at eight exactly. She went to the teachers' lounge for a cup of coffee. There were already a couple others there. Some she didn't really talk to. A couple 5th grade teachers and her best friend, Sango, who was a kinder garden teacher as well as Kagome.

"You look like you ran here," she laughed as she handed Kagome her cup. "I already put in everything you like... cream included. And are you a little later than usual? Would that have anything to do with your exclusive fireboy?" she lifted a brow.

Kagome blushed. One of her life-long best friends, Inuyasha, was now dating her. He worked in a local fire department only on weekdays from 8am to 2:30pm... just like Kagome. They were getting kind of serious now, too. Always hanging out and texting during work and going to each other's houses to watch movies or spend _quality time_together. Though, it never went further than touching... yet. Kagome blushed at the thought.

"For your information, Sango, I haven't spoken to him since yesterday morning," she pointed out, sipping her coffee. Sango laughed and shook her head.

"Oh wow. Twenty-four hours. Let's see you go a couple days."

"You know that's impossible. It's finally Friday, so we're going out, of course." She ignored the look Sango gave her. "He said he wants to go out tonight like a bar or club or dinner and a movie."

"Do you have any idea how serious you two are yet?"

"Umm..." she looked unsure.

"Well... you've been really good friends since you guys were babies... He's your only friend you knew longer than you knew me. You guys have been dating for about two years now? That's enough knowing you to pop the question, if you ask me. And I know he's going to. I mean, he's never even shown the slightest interest in any other girl... as far as I've seen."

Kagome knew what she meant. Sango liked him when they were in grade school and a couple years later a girl named Kikyo took interest in him. He turned both of them down but stayed close to Kagome.

"Your point, please?" Kagome pressed.

"He's in love with you. This outing tonight may be his chance to finally tell you how he feels."

"Oh really?" Kagome smirked, leaning against the wall, trying to think of a way to change the subject. Sango smiled and shrugged, going to sit on a sofa on the other side of the large room. Kagome turned to the fridge to see what was for grabs today. She felt the pocket in her black skirt vibrate. She looked back at Sango, who was watching the news and turned to read her text message.

Of course, it was from him: _Good morning, beautiful. How are you? :)_

Kagome rolled her eyes and started texting back: _I'm good. You?_

She closed her phone and shoved it back in her pocket. She grabbed a pack of bacon and heated up a couple pieces in the microwave. Her pocket viabrated again. She sent another look at Sango before reading it: _I'm bad because you're not here. Don't you miss me? And what do you want to do tonight?_

_I don't know. I'm up for anything. And yes, I miss you. _She took out her bacon, silently waiting for him to reply. It didn't take long but Sango walked over to throw out her coffee cup. Kagome didn't like to text around Sango because she'd get nosy and read the conversation... then start making assumptions and getting over-protective and complicated. And worse, she'd say something to Inuyasha. When Sango walked away, she read the message:

_I want to go for a movie, dinner and maybe go to your place afterwords? Sound okay?_

She smiled, loving how he was so willing to spend so much money just to have a good time with her. But she didn't like when he spent more money on her than she deserved. She replied: _Okay. I'll pay for the movie, you pay for dinner, but nothing too expensive. Let's see _Eclipse.

After she sent that, her phone alarm went off. She set it for five minutes before the bell rang, so she could get prepared and be ready for when her class arrived. Kinder garden was only three hours long, and Kagome taught the morning kinder garden class with Sango. She spent the last three hours of school on hall monitor duty, or in other words, text time.

When she and Sango got to the classroom, they started arranging everything. The name tags on each student's desk, the agenda on the white board with colored markers, the toys in the right bins and the book of piano songs for children open to the ABC song. They often used the piano as a fun way of learning how to count to twenty, colors, the alphabet and other kid songs.

Her pocket viabrated again as soon as the bell rang. Knowing Sango would greet the children, she snuck a glance at her phone: Eclipse _sounds great. I'll pick you up at five-thirty so we can go to the six showing. Movie before dinner?_

She replied as quickly as she could: _Okay, see you then, _and closed her phone. Just as she turned around, the children started pouring into the room, putting the little coats on the backs of their chairs. Kagome checked her mirror to see if she looked okay. She smoothed out her black skirt, adjusted the collar on her light purple blouse and checked her bun. She didn't really like wearing her hair up, but with the straightish wavey way her hair was cut hanging down to her butt, it'd be a bit too... showey... of her to leave it down while teaching children.

She put on a perky smile for the kids to see and gave out her usual cheerful greeting. "Good morning, class."

The kids all replied: "Good morning Miss Higurashi and Miss Taijia."

-x-

The first thing Kagome did when she got home was take a hot bath, throwing her teaching clothes in the laundry room. She had a small, comfortable apartment designed for couples. One floor, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, the master bedroom having a two-person shower that she hoped she could use at some point with Inuyasha... A large kitchen at the entrance, and a large living room past the kitchen. She lived on the third floor in a condo apartment, so her tiny balcony looked out to the city.

She wanted to look casual, but still elegant so she put on a dark purple dress that bared her shoulders and supported her breasts and fell from there to just above her knees. Her hair, of course, hanging down freely. Inuyasha had a thing for playing with her hair, and his was just as long, maybe even longer than hers. She wore a couple rings, an ankle bracelet, a diamond bracelet, a chain on her neck and small hoop earings. She wore stylish winter boots that went up to her knee to keep her legs warmish. It might've been a bit too dressy for the movies, but she didn't care. She always looked her best when it came to Inuyasha.

She carefully lotioned her body, wanting to make her skin as smooth and creamy as she could. Her and Inuyasha hadn't had sex yet, but feeling was one of the things they did in spare time. The furthest it went was Inuyasha sliding his hand up her shirt to feel her bare breasts. She had him shirtless a couple times, too, and he looked damn sexy that way. She smiled at the thought.

She always carried a condom with her, and she was on the pill, knowing things would come down to sex sooner or later. She was always afraid of the first-time pain, so she started off with her fingers. Eventually Sango bought her a vibrator for her 20th birthday. She used it out of curiosity and found it to be so pleasurable, she started using it more frequently. She hasn't used it as much though, since her and Inuyasha started dating. She kept it hidden under her mattress.

She sprayed herself with Japanese Cherry Blossom and put on some lip gloss. She wasn't really big on make up. She grabbed her purse and winter coat, waiting in the living room for Inuyasha to show up. Only a couple minutes later, the doorbell rang. She opened it to let him in.

He stood, gorgeous as usual, wearing a thick black winter coat and black pants. His long black hair was tied back in a low ponytail. He was smiling, his golden eyes glinting from the small light in the kitchen. Oh how she loved his eyes...

"Hi," she said excitedly, like a little kid. He smiled and bowed his head.

"It's so good to see you." He took her hand, kissed her knuckles and looked her over. "You look very beautiful, but you should cover up. It's only thirty-six degrees."

"Of course I'm going to cover up, silly." She grabbed her coat off the counter and he slipped it on for her. She grabbed her purse and they left. They were one of the first people to order tickets for the showing, so they grabbed some snacks and went to their seats in the very back row.

"Are you sure you only want a medium popcorn? I could get more." Kagome said. He shook his head at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and she instantly cuddled into him.

"We're still going to dinner, remember?"

"Of course." she smiled and kissed his nose. He looked around for a moment. Besides another teenage couple a few rows ahead of them, they were the only ones in the theater at that moment. He raised his eyebrows at Kagome and she took the hint, leaning in to kiss him tenderly. He slid his tongue into her mouth, massaging hers. She moaned softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Without even thinking of the action, he easily lifted her tiny slender form onto his lap and ran his fingers through her long hair as she giggled into the kiss. She was trying to feel more of him, but that was almost impossible with the huge winter coat in the way of his wonderful body.

He pulled away and kissed the rest of her face, from her eyes to her cheeks, then her jaw. She greedily pulled him back to her face and devoured his mouth with hers. He eagerly melted into her small form, loving the taste and feel of her. His arms tightened around her, trying to feel her body through her coat. It didn't come easy, so he unzipped it and felt her curves through the thin fabric of the dress.

So lost in the kissing, they didn't even notice a group of teenagers walking up to the row they were in. One of them laughed, the others hollered at them tauntingly. Kagome blushed, pulling away. Inuyasha chuckled, not ashamed. If anyone were to catch him making out with his girlfriend, they should get a show. He kissed her temple and nuzzled her face with his nose. Kagome snuggled right back into him. The teens giggled again and turned to go to a new section of the theater.

As expected, it was a very big crowd in the theater. Almost every seat was filled, so Inuyasha and Kagome couldn't have any privacy throughout the movie, though she stayed on his lap. Every time they tried to kiss, someone would make some kind of embarrassing sound affect, and Inuyasha would tell them to shut the fuck up, mind their own business and watch the movie.

The movie itself wasn't so bad. It was actually really good, but it was annoying how on certain parts, girls would start screaming. Like when they first showed the vampire dude or the wolf kid had his shirt off. Kagome wanted to punch them all. When the movie was over, there was a long round of applause and Kagome and Inuyasha made their way out.

"What restaurant are we going to?" she asked with a smiled as they got in the car.

"You said nothing too expensive, so I figured I'd just take you to a sushi bar. You know, the fancy ones where they cook your food right in front of you." He smiled as he started the engine.

"I haven't been to a restaurant like that in forever." she smiled brightly.

"We have nothing to do tonight but enjoy each other's company and have fun," he paused. "What do you want to do when we get to your house?" he smiled lightly. Kagome though for a moment.

'_You._' "Umm... how about we drink some wine and watch a movie or something? Or we could just chill and talk. I'd honestly rather do that..." '_Maybe it could lead us to do other things..._'

He nodded in agreement. "I almost forgot you had wine. I was about to offer to go to the liquor store."

"No need."

"I don't want you to get too drunk, okay? There's nothing worse than a hangover. Plus, I gotta be able to get myself home safely." he winked at her. She turned her head away. She would do what she could to keep him from going home. She didn't really have any experience in being seductive, but she read enough _Cosmopolitan_ magazine to know a couple tricks for him.

Hell, thanks to the magazine, she knew plenty of things about Inuyasha. Like him pushing his drink or plate a little closer to her meant he wanted to bond more with her. Him hugging her while rubbing her back meant that he really cared about her. Him hugging her from behind meant he loved her.

She blushed at the thought of him loving her. She wasn't really sure if he did, but he gave off a lot of hints. He always wanted to be with her. He got a mysterious sparkle in his eyes when he looked at her, like desire. He always made eye contact with her, no matter how tempting her clothes made her look. Ninety-eight percent of his attention was always on her. He was always focused on making her happy and comfortable, and she always was around him.

"You're quiet," he pointed out with a smile, but his tone gave away his suspicion.

"Just thinking," she responded simply.

"About what?"

"You, of course." she smiled sweetly. He nodded. At least she was telling the truth, though she wouldn't get into specifics. He suspected as much, but wouldn't push her any further.

They pulled into a small parking lot. Kagome recognized the street, but she'd never seen the little bar here before. Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her waist and escorted her into the building. It wasn't really fancy inside. Just a dim light and a candle on each table. But it was still a nice place. There was the bar tender, the bar stools and food behind glass on the bar. It looked pretty good. There were little stoves on each table, as Inuyasha had said, and chefs were cooking meals right in front of the customers.

They sat at a table by the bar stools. Kagome stared at the food in amazement. There was so much, and it all looked so good. There were vedgetables and meat cooked in teriyaki sauce, rice, noodles, curi and countless different types of chicken and seafood.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked, ushering towards a large menu on the wall by the entrance. Kagome got a good look at everything, including the prices. Everything was so cheap! She'd have to come here more often.

"Shrimp fried rice and ahi." (type of suchi).

"Good choice. The shrimp is my personal favorite." he turned to the chef behind the bar. He was thin with long black hair tied back in a high ponytail, wearing a black t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"Good evening. I am your server, Nobunaka. What will we be having this evening?" he smiled politely.

Inuyasha spoke for her. "One order of shrimp fried rice and ahi. And for me, the grilled chicken and four egg rolls."

"Okay," the chef wrote it down. "And to drink?"

"Water," Kagome smiled at Inuyasha who looked at her questionably.

"Two waters."

"Very well then," he walked away.

"What do you think?" Inuyasha asked her.

"It's not too fancy... Definitely not too expensive... it looks and smells amazing," she commented, looking around the restaurant.

"If you like, which I'm sure you will, I'll take you back some time."

"I already like it," she smiled down at her lap. "I might make this my usual spot and come back here every day."

"I'm good friends with a couple of the chefs here. You'll probably notice that absolutely no women work here." Inuyasha spoke.

"I actually didn't notice. Are they not allowed to work here?"

"It's not that. I don't know why. When I asked the bartender, he told me the last woman to work here died three years ago of old age," he pointed to a sign by the bartender. It was a picture of an old woman and said _In memory of Kaede Bisho_. "No women applied here ever since."

"Oh," she said. They ignored the chef as he prepared the meats. Kagome looked at Inuyasha sipping his water through a thin straw. He was staring at the table, as if in thought and smiled up at her.

"Everything okay?" he asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Are you going to eat all of those eggrolls?" she asked Inuyasha as she looked at the chef preparing the food.

"Would you like to try one?" he offered as the chef got the hint and handed him two. She took it from him and smelled it before biting off the end. It was good! She took another bite... how fantastic! Her face lit up as she finished it. Inuyasha smiled at her.

"Would you like another?" he asked, smiling as he handed her a napkin. She nodded as she wiped her mouth. "When you bite off the top, pour a bit of soy sauce inside. It tastes wonderful." he handed her a packet with sauce. She tried it and it was even better!

They didn't want to get to into conversation with the chef there, so they picked at their eggrolls until the meat was done. Inuyasha enjoyed more of Kagome's reactions on the food and promised to take her back as soon as possible.

-x-

When they got to Kagome's house, she went to her kitchen. "Do you want Brandi?" she asked as Inuyasha hung up his coat in the closet.

"Of course," he smiled. She knew that was his favorite wine. He went and sat on the couch. It was still dark in the house, but the light from the moon outside the balcony was bright enough that they could see. Kagome came in with two wine glasses in one hand and a bottle of Brandi in the other. She poured the glasses on the coffee table.

"Is it too dark in here?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't mind." She grabbed the matches off the table and lit the candles on each side of it. "That's better," he smiled at her. He took a sip of his wine and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She snuggled right into him.

"This is nice." she closed her eyes and leaned her head on him. He nodded in agreement and kissed her forehead, inhaling her shampoo.

"Did I ever tell you that you're the most gorgeous thing known to man?" he asked, smiling a bit. She blushed, feeling the heat run through her... straight to the area between her legs. Why was she so turned on? Inuyasha was a god on earth but he hadn't even touched her like that yet and all she could think about was making love to him. She leaned forward to place her wine glass on the table and turned back to him.

He stared at her wordlessly as she stroked his face softly with the back of her hand, her other hand rested on his chest. She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek and he lit up like the 4th of July. He wrapped his muscular arms around her and held her like a child on his lap, kissing her face and hair. '_So perfect..._' he thought. He kissed her jaw line to her chin and then her lips.

She deepened the kiss by sliding her tongue into his mouth, massaging his with it. His tongue swirled around hers exotically, wanting to taste other parts of her body... She moaned deeply into the kiss, grabbing a fist full of his shirt and pulling him closer, wanting to press his body against hers as much as possible. Inuyasha's hand slid from the back of her head to her throat... and down her chest... to gently cup one of her large mounds. She moaned again and arched her back to him, so he squeezed it a bit.

She pulled away, breathing heavily. He kissed along her jaw and down her throat, leaving a wet trail. She pulled his face up to hers and he was instantly lost in her eyes. They were fill with desire, lust, need and... love... She pulled him towards her again to kiss him tenderly. She pulled away for a minute to straddle him, which caught him by surprise. He stared at her and she stared back at him, both breathing heavily.

Without thinking, Inuyasha pulled her body flush against his and kissed her with so much passion he could've died right there. This moment was perfect, and he really hoped to go further. A couple weeks ago, the farthest they went was him groping her bare breast, then she got shy and... he would never pressure her, so they stopped and he went home, disappointed. Now she was more than willing to let him love her. He cupped her beast again through the dress, though the padding got in the way of him feeling anything more than the perfectly round shape of it. His other hand played with the hem, timing the right moment to pull the dress over her head to finally see her bare breasts. He couldn't keep track of how many times he imagined her nude, but it was always passionate touching and grinding when he imagined them together like this.

He slid his hands up the dress to rub her thighs to comfort her, even though she didn't seem shy in the least. She moaned again when his hands trailed up her curvy sides to play with the bottom of the built-in bra of the dress. He moved a finger up through it to feel her bare breast. It was soft and warm, just like he remembered. He stroked it softly, then squeezed it a bit, pinching her nipple and she moaned loudly. His other hand playfully snapped the stringy thong on her hip, causing her to giggle. He reached down a bit further, not moving too fast. He rubbed her clit through her panties and she moaned even louder. He kept rubbing in a rhythm to see her reaction. She started panting out his name lovingly, and that was too much for him. His erection came on full force and he wanted her more than ever.

He was surprised when she started granding against him, meeting his finger strokes. "Inuyasha... Oooh..." she moaned into his ear and took the lobe into her mouth. He reached around the thin fabric to rub her bare clit and her eyes popped open in surprise and pleasure. He slid one finger into her and she melted against him, not able to control herself. She sat, panting breathlessly as his finger rode her out. It felt so fucking good... She thrusted against him again, panting and moaning. He felt her tight muscles clamp around his finger and he could only imagine how good that would feel on his cock.

Her walls tightened even more and she buried her face into his shoulder to muffle her scream as she came against him. He pulled his finger out and rubbed her back with his other hand to sooth her. Just as he put his hand up to his mouth to lick his finger, Kagome gripped his wrist and dipped his creamy finger in _her _mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned, taking hard drags on it before releasing it and trailing his hand down her chest to her cleavage. He stared at her, breathless. Then he pulled her to him to kiss her again. He pulled away to whisper huskily in her ear: "I want you, Kagome."

She could only moan in response as he kissed her collar bone. He looked back at her, his gold eyes filled with lust. "Do you want me?"

"Yes..." she whispered. "Love me, Inuyasha." she grinded her hips against his again, causing him to moan in frustration. He pulled the bottom of the dress upward, to just under her breasts. She smiled at him and pulled it over her head. Inuyasha was dumbstruck. She was so beautiful... He wanted her so much for so many reasons. He looked up at her face with much effort and she was smiling at him lovingly. She kissed him on his nose and moved to unbutton his dark blue shirt. He slid it off for her so she could admire him as he admired her. He kissed her quickly and pulled back to stare at her, not sure where to go from here.

She gave him a hint and wrapped her arms around his head to leave her breasts pushed against his face. He loved how warm and soft and perfect they were. He nuzzled them lovingly while she kissed the top of his head. He sucked a nipple into his mouth, loving the delicious tang of her skin. He kneaded the other breast then switched. Her back arched again as he ran his hands all over her body with much less shyness than before.

He pushed them to stand up so he could strip them of the rest of their clothes. He got on his knees to kiss her belly and blew a rasberry on her belly button. She giggled and he smiled up at her. He kissed her pantie-covered crotch and grabbed the traps, pulling it down slowly then stood up to kiss her face. She pressed her hand against his pants to feel his hardened penis through them. She undid the button and fly and he stripped them off so she wouldn't have to bend down. She smiled as he quickly kissed her neck under her ear and pulled back to smiled at her. He slipped off his boxers and she gasped.

"What's wrong?" he touched the side of her face.

"Nothing... it's just that... you're so _big_. Bigger than I thought..." she smiled shyly. He kissed her and pulled her gently to the couch. Then he paused.

"Do you have a condom?" he asked.

"I'm on the pill," she smiled. "You're my first, by the way."

He smiled back. "You're my first, too." He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her softly. He plopped back down on the couch and she straddled him again. He rubbed her bare bottom while they stopped to give each other hot tongue kisses for a couple minutes. He lifted her into his arms and lay her lengthwise on the couch. He crawled to the circle of her arms and legs, positioning himself at her entrance, hot, wet, and waiting for him.

He looked her in the eye while his hand guided his penis into her. She squirmed a bit but remained calm. He kissed her nose once he was seated in her, panting. She was so tight, tighter than he expected. It felt so amazing. She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. He rocked into her slowly. It didn't take long before the pain subsided and she moved with him, grinding her clit against him. He was so lost in pleasure, he gripped the couch for control, loosing himself in her slippery depths.

She moaned his name loudly and arched her back, and he figured he did well pleasuring her. He burried his head into her neck, thrusting as deep as he could possibly go. She tangled her fingers in his hair while he continued to grip the couch. He slid his hands down to her curvey hips and guided her movements, matching his own thrusts. She just felt too good to him.

He quickly sat up so his butt rested on his feet, pulling her up with him to sit on his lap, doing short but hard thrusts. She moaned loudly again, gripping his arms for support. She tried to thrust with him, but it was difficult to keep up, so she just let his hands on her hips control her motions. He stopped thrusting for a moment to kiss her deeply, then was caught off guard by her pushing him backwards and riding him with wild abandon, her head thrown back in pleasure. He'd never seen a more orgasmic sight. She never looked so beautiful to him. She always seemed so innocent, and here she was, fucking him like it was their last day on Earth.

He sat up to bring his chest flush against hers, looking her in the eye as he thrusted into her. Her head tipped forward and she returned his gaze as she gripped his shoulders, thrusting down harder to bring him impossibly deeper into her. Her eyes closed and her head tipped back again, moaning his name as her orgasm hit. She fell against him as he thrust into her a couple more times before he came in her.

He pulled out and kissed her tenderly before he collapsed backwards on the couch. She fell against him and they both drifted to sleep.

"It was magical, Sango. I never thought we'd get around to it, but we did. It was the happiest moment of my life," Kagome smiled as her and Sango sat in the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring.

"Did he finally tell you he loves you?" Sango smiled.

"No," Kagome said glumly. "I don't think he's ready for that yet."

"Maybe. I'm sure he does, Kagome, just give him some time." Sango patted her arm. Kagome nodded and smiled. She loved Inuyasha, and was sure he loved her back, though both were much too shy to say it aloud.

"He said I'm the most gorgeous thing known to man. But he's wrong."

Sango laughed. "So he's good at wooing you with corny but romantic lines."

"It wasn't corny! I thought it was very sweet of him. But he's the most gorgeous, not me."

Sango shook her head as the bell rang and smiled. They gave the class their usual greeting as the children filed in, Kagome handed a pointer stick to one of the boys, Shippo.

"It's your turn to count how many children are here today," she smiled at him. The redheaded child smiled, a dimple forming in his right cheek, as he stood and counted with Kagome the twelve kids in the room.

It was at snacktime an hour later that Kagome and Sango went to the desk, speaking privately. The kids were occupied with their snacks and toys.

"Okay. You don't want to sound too demanding, but I think you should ask Inuyasha how he feels about you." Sango said.

Kagome shook her head. "I don't want to push him. As you stated before, he'll tell me when he's ready."

"You sound hopeful."

"I am."

Sango paused, measuring Kagome's expression. "You love him, right?"

"Of course," Kagome smiled.

"Then you come out and tell him first. Maybe he'll say it back," she suggested.

"Umm... that's a bad idea. I'm too shy to come out and say it. And even if I do, what if he freezes up or doesn't say it back?"

"Don't worry. You'll never know until you say it."

"I don't know..."

Shippo walked up to them then. "Ms. Higurashi, can you take me to the bathroom?"

"Sure," Kagome hopped up and took his hand. She waited in the hallway in the basement where the kinder garden bathrooms were. The kinder garden bathrooms only had one toilet each. The school had separate bathrooms for the little and big kids, and gender.

While standing against the wall, her phone vibrated in the pocket of her dress pants. She opened her phone, hoping it was Inuyasha.

_Snack time is almost over_, Sango sent her. Kagome rolled her eyes and texted back: _I'll be up in a few mintues._

While standing there, she caught a whiff of... smoke? She shoved her phone in her pocket and wandered down the hall, following the smell. Why wasn't the fire alarm going off? Right. No one was down here to smell the smoke and pull it. Kagome eyed it next to a room with a large furnace in it. Something caught her eye. A flickering light. Fire. Her eye went wide as she realized it was coming _from _the furnace. She ran back into the hallway and pulled the fire alarm. It went off instantly.

She was about to run upstairs when she realized banging coming from the bathroom door. Shippo!

"Ms. Higurashi!" he cried from inside. "I can't open the door!"

"Shippo, I'm here! Can you hear me?" she shrieked.

"Yeah! Get me out of here!" he yelled back. It started to sound like he was crying. A loud rumbling sound came from the furnace room and there were flames visible from where Kagome stood down the hall. Her eyes widened.

Upstairs, she could hear the students filing out the building, chattering in panic. They knew it wasn't a drill.

"Help!" Kagome yelled. "Somebody help! A little boy is trapped!"

Nobody came.

Kagome tried to twist the knob this way and that, but the door wouldn't budge, the knob becoming warmer. Inside the bathroom, Shippo was wailing.

"Ms. Higurashi, is there really a fire?" he yelled.

"I'm going to get you out of there, Shippo! Don't give up!" she yelled. She backed up and kicked the door as hard as she could manage.

"Somebody help!" Kagome yelled again. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Don't leave me!" Shippo yelled.

"I won't, I promise." Kagome couldn't picture it. How could she escape without saving the innocent child first? She kicked the door again.

Just then, a male teacher came downstairs. His eyes went wide when he saw the fire at the end of the hall swallowing up the walls and moving closer towards Kagome. He was big, and bald. Kagome recognized him, a forth grade teacher, Mr. Wada.

"Get tools or something, the door won't open!" she yelled at him. He nodded, his eyes widened as he ran back upstairs. Then she heard the sirens of three or four firetrucks parking outside the school. She turned and saw the fire moving towards her, the walls started to collapse. Her heart sped as she gasped for air. It was so smokey down there, she started to get light-headed.

But she wouldn't give up on the child.

She kept trying to open the door. Twisting and banging. The child trapped inside the bathroom was the only thing keeping her from bolting upstairs and escaping to safety. The ceiling on the other end of the hall collapsed, leaving wood and debris scattered around. Some of it flew at her and cut her. The fire inched closer to her, faster, until she was consumed in a cloud of smoke so thick she couldn't open her eyes. Her lungs grew weak. She felt like she was going to pass out.

_This is it,_ she thought. _I'm going to die trying to save this child. S_he drifted, leaning heavily against the door, barely conscious.

"Ms. Higurashi, I smell smoke!" Shippo cried. Kagome tried to stand, to gain some strength back, but the smoke was too much for her. Her skin was blistering from the heat.

"Kagome!" a different voice called. It sounded muffled, as if they were wearing a mask.

Inuyasha's eyes went wide when he saw her slouched against the door, tears running down her cheeks from the smoke. He picked her up, about the bolt upstairs when he heard banging against the bathroom door.

"Ms. _Higurashi!_" a child cried from inside. He set Kagome down and banged on the door.

"Kid, are you in there?" he asked.

"Please help me out!" the child yelled. Another fireman came downstairs with an ax, Mr. Wada followed him with a fire extinguisher. Inuyasha beckoned the fireman over.

"There's a child inside!" then to the door: "Kid, back up! We're gonna break the door!"

"Okay!"

They waited two seconds before the other fireman started to bash the ax against the door, breaking it in. Inuyasha ran back to Kagome's side. He took a deep breath and removed mask, breathing into her mouth. He put his fists on her chest and did thirty compressions.

"Breathe!" he comanded. Maybe it wasn't the best idea the attempt CPR in a room filled with smoke.

As he was about the pick her up, the other fireman ran upstairs with the child in his arms, the breathing mask was now on Shippo's face. Inuyasha quickly followed after him with Kagome in his arms. He set her down once they were safely outside. Everyone was panicking, parents arriving to pick up their children.

Inuyasha tuned all that out and focused on nothing but getting Kagome to breathe again. After three more sets of compressions, she finally came to, coughing out smoke.

"Kagome, thank goodness!" he smiled happily and leaned down to hug her. She tried to sit up, but he but he pushed her back down and rolled her into a rest position.

"Stay put for now, okay?"

"Inuyasha... you saved my life," she coughed.

"I get paid to do that," he smiled down at her. She smiled back and coughed again.

"Are you okay?"

"I feel woozy," she admitted, closing her eyes.

He went with her when she was loaded into an ambulance, holding her hand the whole way. And he stayed with her when she was brought to a room to be examined. Her injuries were very minor, just a couple blisters and cuts. Nothing that would keep her there overnight.

"Inuyasha, will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone," she asked softly.

He took her hand. "Of course. We can go to your house and we'll get you cleaned up," he promised.

He went to his house first. He packed his clothes for the evening and changed into a white t-shirt and deep blue sweat pants, then they went to Kagome's house. He sat her on the closed toilet and sat in front of her as he cleaned the cut on her knee.

"Ouch... that stings," she complained as he poured peroxide on her wound.

"Sorry," he dabbed at it with a cotton ball. "But it'll clean your cuts so they don't get infected." he half-smiled. She sighed and leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. He pulled back to look at her warm eyes.

"Thanks," he said shyly. She smiled and closed her eyes. "Still light headed?"

"Mhm."

"I'll finish cleaning you up and take you to lay down." he said. He took a band-aid and wrapped it around her left hand, where there were blisters and cuts from touching the hot, metal doorknob.

"I'm so proud of you, Kagome."

She kept her eyes closed. "Why?"

"Because you stayed down there. At first when I saw you, I thought you went insane, being down there. But you were risking you life to save that kid."

"I couldn't leave him there," she explained. "How could I live through that?"

"If you never stayed down there, that kid probably wouldn't have made it... Nobody would know he was there," he smiled. "But you stayed. When you were being examined, I spoke with his parents. They're grateful."

"I feel like a hero," she smiled.

"You are," he frowned. "But don't ever get yourself caught up in danger again. You scared me. I thought I was going to loose you."

She opened her eyes. His were serious. He sighed and stood up. "Do you want me to... help you wash up?"

"I want to save that for the morning. I just want to lay down," she closed her eyes again. He scooped her up and brought her to her bed. She lay back, half propped up by her many pillows. He sat next to her, dabbing her sweaty forehead with a wet cloth.

"You're burning up. You sure you don't want to take a cold shower?" he eyed the sweat on her hairline. She shook her head.

"Inhaling all that smoke knocked the energy right out of me," she explained. "I thought I was gonna die before the fire even got to me."

"Most people die from the smoke, rather then the fire itself. I'm okay to stay with you during the evening, but who will take care of you when I'm at work?"

"My mother. She works at night, and you'll be here."

"Oh."

"I can't go back to work," she sighed. "When I get better I'll go look for a job."

"I think you should've stayed at the hospital," he said seriously. "You're too weak to stay home. There will be people to help you out twenty-four seven."

"I'm not," she objected, but she shifted uncomfortably. "I just need your company." She paused for a moment as she opened her eyes and looked down. He knew she wanted to ask him something. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked.

She twiddled her thumbs. "How do you stand being in a fire with all the heavy equipment on? I wore a blouse and thin dress pants and I thought I was going to burn to a crisp. How can you withstand being in a fire every day, and you're always, thankfully, unharmed?"

His eyes softened as he pushed her hair back. "I've been training for years to do what I do every day. And you get used to it. But I also love my job. I get to save people every day... and the ozone layer. And I get paid to do it."

"You know I can't help but worry about you when you're at work, right? Because you risk your life every day... I can't help but fear there's going to be a day when you never... punch out..."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Why do you worry? You don't need to. Like I said, I've been training for years. It's ridiculous that you'd think I'd never make it back one day. I mean, I know there's a possibility, but you have nothing to worry about-"

"I worry because I love you too much to loose you!"

She stared up at him, her eyes blazing with fear and passion. He stared back with nothing to say. What _should _he say? His jaw hung open as his wide amber eyes bore into hers innocently. Kagome felt embarrassed, insulted that he didn't say anything back. She was right, He didn't love her. She hung her head, staring down at her hand.

"I shouldn't have said anything." she said. She stared down for a moment before she felt Inuyasha's fingers pull her face up to look at him. His eyes were serious, almost pained.

"I feel so relieved that you said that," he smiled lightly. "I always thought that you didn't... that you weren't into me like that."

"We've been together for years now. That seems pretty serious to me," Kagome smiled back. "But you never told me, either."

"I didn't want to make you feel pressured, if you didn't feel the same way, or weren't ready to say it."

Kagome laughed quietly. Inuyasha raised his eyebrows. "Whats so funny?"

Sat sat up and leaned against his shoulder. "That's exactly why I haven't told you... And to think Sango and I had this conversation just this morning..." she shook her head.

"I have a confession to make... I was hoping you were going to say it to me last night. You told me to love you, and that gave me some confidence to say it, but I was so lost in the pleasure, the comment stuck in my throat. And then we were so tired after that..." he chuckled nervously.

"Well, I almost said it this morning, when I woke up to you stroking my hair."

He laughed again at her blush. "But you were too hungry."

"Yeah, I was..." she laughed. They laughed together, both remembering to previous night and the ridiculous situation that brought them admitting their feelings. Inuyasha stroked her hair lightly.

"I love you too," he sighed and kissed her temple.

"Mmm," she smiled and pulled away to look at him.

"What?" he asked, surprised to see her blushing, a small smile hinted at the corners of her lips.

"Love me again?" she asked cutely.

"I thought you were exhausted."

"I am, but I want you. I can't help how I feel right now," she admitted.

"How do you feel?" he asked, gently pushing her to lay down and straddling her, not putting any weight on her. He kissed her neck a couple times. She breathed deeply for a moment, not answering.

"Hmm?" he pressed, kissing her jaw.

"I'm drowning in the moment... that we just admitted that we loved each other," she said breathlessly. "And I think it's obvious that we've loved each other for a very long time."

"Mhm." he kissed her lips lightly, dipping his tongue in her mouth. She gently pushed his face back a few inches.

"Can I ask you something?" she half-moaned. He raised a brow at her. "Will you move in with me?" she asked in a small voice. He smiled and nodded.

"As soon as possible," he said, bending back to her lips. Then he sat up. Kagome sighed impatiently. What could possibly make him interrupt them again?

"Wait," he paused, digging into his pocked. "I've had this for a while, saving it for the perfect occasion." He pulled a ring box out of his pocket, small, gray, and soft. He flipped it open to reveal a glossy silver engagement ring. Kagome's eyes popped open in surprise. Inuyasha chuckled.

"I've had serious feelings for you since 6th grade, and I bought this when we were seniors, planning on proposing to you after graduation, but we weren't together at the time, and I didn't want you to feel like I was trying to rush you into anything. I spent half of my college savings on this. I kind of had a feeling that you liked me, because we went to all the school dances together, even prom. But we didn't get together until after school. I figured I'd save it for a perfect occasion. I had it last night, but I never brought it out because we never said I love you yet. And we were a little drunk...

"I decided that maybe the moment was today, because of what happened. I'd never want to repeat anything like today's events, but today made me feel closer to you than ever before, because I thought I was going to loose you. And through that fear of loosing you, I figured I'd devote myself to you than ever before," he smiled.

Kagome was quiet for a moment. "I see. I totally agree with you. I think I owe you my life, not only because you saved me today, but also because I feel the same... about being more devoted for you because I almost died today." Inuyasha frowned when she said that.

"I don't want you to feel like you should say yes because you owe me for saving you."

"That's not the only reason I'm saying yes," she took his free hand and entwined their fingers. He smiled for a moment. "I'm also saying yes because I love you."

"Will you marry me?" he asked, his eyes very gentle.

"Yes," Kagome smiled. Inuyasha freed his hand to take her left one, pausing when he remember the blisters on it.

"Should I...?" he asked nervously. Kagome smiled and nodded.

"I doesn't hurt much, honestly."

He slid the ring very carefully onto her third finger and kissed her knuckles, then leaned in to kiss her lips again.

"I love you," he murmured, smiling as he leaned down.

"I love you, too," she whispered, capturing his lips in her own.

He let the little velvet box fall to the floor as they continued from there.


End file.
